Lake Lanier Fishing Report June 2011

Lanier: Level: 1.8 feet below full pool. Temp: Low to mid 70s. Clarity: Clear.

Largemouths: Fair. Billy Boothe reports, “I’m catching a decent number of fish right now in the morning, but it’s a grind after that. There are two patterns that are working good at daylight. I’m catching my bigger fish on a green-pumpkin Mann’s Hardnose Swim Toad buzzed around shallow brush and docks back in the creeks. For numbers, target main-river flats that have shad or herring present, and burn a ghost-pro-blue-colored Lucky Craft Sammy or a white Revenge buzzbait. The best flats have rock and isolated wood with a depth change nearby. Later in the day you can back off the flats and Carolina rig a junebug Mann’s Hardnose worm and catch a few of the fish that were up in the morning. The ledge bite is slowly starting to happen and should improve in the coming weeks. Most of the fish are relating to isolated stumps and brush, and I’m having to make multiple casts with a citrus shad Mann’s 20 Plus, deflecting it off the cover to trigger a strike.”

Spotted Bass: Good. Ryan Coleman reports, “The herring are spawning right now in the mid-lake area on sandbars and shallow points on the main lake. Fishing has been excellent the past week, and I look for it to get even better over the first few weeks of June. I have been doing very well working topwater on main-lake points and humps during the morning and then switching to a soft swimbait/jig-head combination the rest of the day. I have been getting some topwater action during the afternoons, but the morning action has been excellent. My clients have been catching a good many 4- to 5-lb. spotted bass on top, with swimbaits and with a finesse worm rigged on a Spotsticker jig head around brush throughout the day. I had a 6-trip stretch when we had 10 fish heavier than 5 pounds. Look for the herring spawn to die down by the first of June and the fish to be attached to offshore, man-made brush. Once they are there, the summer bite will be on. Topwater baits such as a Zara Spook, Lucky Craft Sammy or Chug Bug, hard swimbaits like the Bull Shad or Tim Farley’s Herring swimbait and Fish Head Spins worked in 10 to 15 feet of water over brush will be good. The drop-shot bite should also be picking up soon, but you may want to keep your big baits in hand and save the drop shotting for July, when you really have to.”

Stripers: Good. Guide Shane Watson reports, “Downlined bluebacks fished 20 to 25 feet deep over a 30- to 35-foot bottom are working well. Early most mornings and after 5 in the afternoon, we are seeing busting stripers and spots on top. These surfacing fish have bit Spro Dawgs and Spooks well. Freelines are still producing a few bigger fish, but not as many numbers as before. I have had a couple of customers bring along their fly rods and have done well around reef poles and on points when the fish have been up. If you get over there in the morning and you don’t see the stripers on top in the first 30 to 45 minutes, you will be better off downlining. When the fish are on the graph, freshly changed bluebacks are making all the difference. Power reeling live bait is also working well. Capt Mack’s 4-arm U-rigs fished 60 feet behind the boat at 3.0 mph are also working. The stripers are on a typical early summertime pattern on Lake Lanier. They’re over a 30- to 35-foot bottom, on and just off points and humps. Overall, the numbers of downline fish have been very good. Most of these fish are 5 to 15 pounds, but the action has been great.”